An Appeal to Rome Anglo-Saxon Dispute Settlement, 800-810
Forsman, Deanna
The Heroic Age Issue 6 Spring 2003
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that Anglo-Saxon dispute settlement in the early ninth century exploited Charlemagne’s title as Holy Roman Emperor. The willingness of Anglo-Saxon monarchs to evoke a Continental presence in dispute resolution demonstrates the connection between England and Charlemagne’s renovatio imperii.
Two disputes between the Northumbrian and Mercian kingdoms were resolved through an external agent, the first in 801, and the second in 809. While conflict between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms was nothing new, mediation between kings as a strategy of dispute resolution was unique to this period. I suggest that the kings of Northumbria and Mercia, the two strongest kingdoms in the early ninth century, exploited Charlemagne’s imperial title to strengthen their own positions.
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Tags: Anglo-Saxon, Politics
